Wednesday, April 4, 2012

Mata Rama Bai Ambedkar

It is rightly said, “There is a
lady at the back of very successful man”.it was so in the case of Goswami
Tulsidass, Shatrarpati Shiva Ji Maharaj, Tilak, Gandhi Veer Savarkar, Mahatma
Jyotiba Phule, Baba Sahib B R Ambedkar and may other personalities, who made
history of sorts. The success of Dr. Ambedkar had incalculable contribution of
his noble wife Smt.Rama Bhai Ambedkar, She was intelligent, kind, poise,
obedient, chaste, religious, possessing high character, besides having
simplicity of style and taste. This saintly lady although lived in extreme
poverty but without a whisper of complaint on her face. Always turning her eyes
towards God for the safety and prosperity of her husband. She was gentle by
temperament, sober in manners, weak in constitution but modest in speech.
Revered Ramabhai a sober and good girl came of a good but poor family. She was
the second daughter of Bhiku Walandkar, a resident of Walang village near
Dapoli in Konkan in central India.
He worked as porter at Dopli. He used to carry fish loads on his head from sea
side to the bazaar. His earning was so meager that he could hardly make both
ends meet. Dapoli is a place where child Bhim was admitted in his first school,
when he was 5 years. Old, as his father Subedar Ramji Sakpal had migrated after
his retirement. Rama bhai was born in 1898. her childhood name was Ramibhai and
she has two sisters Gorabhai and Meerabhai and one brother named Shanker
Dhutrey. Shanker Dhutrey also called Shanker Walangkar worked in a press. These
unfortunate children lost first their mother & after some time their father
too in childhood so were brought up by their maternal and parental uncle in Bombay (now Mumbai). Bhiva
later called Bhimrao Ramji Dass Ambedkar and Ramibhai (later Ramabhai) were
married when they were 16 years and 9 years old respectively: The marriage was
ceremonised shortly after Bhim had passed his matriculation examination. The
marriage pandal was an open shed of the Byculla Fish market in Bombay, after the days
market was over. At night the bridegroom and his relatives were lodged in one
spacious corner of the open shed and that of with her relatives in another
corner. The small stone plate forms in the market served as benches, where a
small gutter of dirty water flowed underneath their feet. The marriage place
was vacated in the early morning before sunrise to enable the merchants to
carry their daily business. The marriage was ceremonies with religious rites
and jollity. Ramibhai was renamed Ramabhai after marriage and later earned the
distinction of being called Mata Ramabhai Ambedker.

Rambhai
Ambedker was illiterate at the time of her marriage but her husband later
taught here simple reading and writing. Educationally there was world of
difference between the two but they loved and respected each other from the
core of their heats. Love, faith, sincerity, sacrifice and understanding links,
between the two persons formed unbreakable chain to live happily, despite both being ducationally poles aparts. Bhim
used to call his wife affectionately as “Ramu” and she called him “Sahib”. She
was deeply proud of her husband and Bhim respected here immensely. As
Dr.Ambedkar was always busy in reading & could devote very little time for
house hold affairs. At times she used to press here sahib’s feet in the
evening, when he was reading & slept on the floor under his feet. But
Ramabhai ensured that nobody disturbed him during this study or working. She
cared for the health and welfare of her husband by all means.

When
Ambedkar was in America,
she lived a life of destitute but without any regret. It is rare historical
example of courage & conviction of a wife (Ramabhai) who used to make cowdung cakes and carry bthe same on her
head, to use them as cheap household fuel, despite tauntingremarks from
neighbouring women folk, when her husband (Dr B R Ambedkar), also in acute
financial crisis was struggling to obtain world’s highest Academic degrees
including Doctorate of Science in foreign lands. Despite financial crisis for
studies and at home. . Dr Ambedkar became Barrister reinforced by a London
Doctorate of Science, an American Doctorate in Philosophy and Studies of Bonn
University, which reflected immense sacrifices of his wife. When Ambedkar was
preparing to go to America
for higher studies, the neighbouring women advised Ramabhai to stop her husband
from going abroad, as he may marry a Mem (English lady) and desert her. But
Ramabhai had unflinching faith on her sahib and replied to those ladies that’
she knew her husband well and he cannot do so”.

Despite
Ramabhai‘s little education she was an expert housewife and knew well to run
her house hold affairs. On getting money for monthly household expenses from
Ambedkar she used to divide the money into 30 parts keeping each part separately. Daily she opened one
part and used it, so as not to run penniless on last dates of the month. Her
economical habits and faith in her
husband, enabled the couple to get constructed their palatial house
namely, Rajgrih in Bombay.
But even after moving into Rajgrih, it did not affect her simple habits.

The
wedlock of this ideal couple was blessed with four sons and one daughter, Out
of his four sons namely, Ramesh, Gangadhar, yashwant and Rajratna and one
daughter Indu only one son namely Yashwant Ambedkar (Father of Sh Parkash
Abmedkar MP) survived, others died mostly in fancy. This gave the couple great
pains and sorrows. On the death of his youngest son Rajratan on Ist July 1926,
Dr Ambedkar wrote on 16th August to one of his friends, “There is no
use pretending that I and my wife have recovered from the shock of our Son’s
death and I don’t think that we ever shall. - - - - - - - with the loss of our
kids the salt of our life is gone - - - - “ After a long period of mourning
& on the insistence of his well wishers, Dr Ambedkar settled down on the
work for emancipation of down trodden but Ramabhai Continued in grief. This
acted upon here health badly and she fell gravely ill. She being highly
religious even during illness, she continued observing fasts on Saturdays, took
only water and black gram, worshipped God for His blessing on her husband. Her
thoughts, mind and eyes were devoted to the service of her Sahib. At this she
would say,’Sahib what is there in having so many Degrees, cannot we live
happily with lesser education perhaps she did not know that the emancipation of
million of untouchables was possible only with knowledge of order which Dr
Ambedkar acquired before plunging into the war to breake the age old chains of
slavery of his brethren.

On
Ramabhai’s insistence and life long Dr Ambedkar took Ramabhai to Pandharpur for
pilgrimage of Bithal Ji Maharaj, in whom she had lot of faith. But being
untouchables they were not allowed to go near the temple, so they had to stand
at a distance from the temple idol to offer prayers. It irritated the
self-respecting Dr Ambedkar and he said “What of that Pandherpur, which
prevents its devotees from seeing the image of God, by our own virtuous life,
selfless service and spotless sacrifice in the cause of downtrodden humanity,
we shall create another Pandharpur. Another Pandharpur ! He kept his promise by
leaving Hindu religion and embracing Buddhism and re-establishing Buddha in His
motherland after centuries. Illness at last over power the weak body physique
of Rama Bai Ambedkar. She was even taken to Dharwal Bai Dr.Ambedkar for change,
but this to did not help in improving her health. No medicine could give her
relief and at last on 27th
May 1935 unfortunate happen. She passed away at her residence.

Thus
came the end of the nobility of mind and purity of heart. But fortunately Dr
Ambedkar was by the side of her death bed. About 10,000 people rich and poor,
educated and illiterate, important and common attended here funeral procession.
Her son Yashwant Ambedkar preformed all Hindus ritees at the bidding of a Maha
priest Sambhoo More, who was Baba Sahib’s colleague since their school days.
After the death of Ramabhai, Baba Sahib was a completely broken person. Over a
week he kept weeping like a child and it was difficult to console him. He put
on a dress of a hermit and got his head tonsured. The saintly saffron robe
indicated a hermit with world negating attitude. On the repeated requests &
advice of his trusted friend and well – wishers he again took in his hand the oar to sail across his suffering
fellowmen and to cut their age old chains of slavery.